WESG USA National Finals Recap: Day One

10 Nov , 2018

Written By: Steve Vegvari

The WESG USA National Finals have begun. Players from all across the country have gathered in LA to compete for the top spot in the Olympic-style challenge. Each competitor is rallying together for their chance to not only win the title of National Finalist but to also go on to compete in the WESG Grand Finals held in China next year.

The WESG holds multiple tournaments, and for the kickoff, the Vainglory, Starcraft 2, CS:GO Co-Ed and CS:GO Woman’s semifinal rounds went live.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

First to take the stage were CLG Red and Old School. As the match began, CLG Red was the favoured team to go take the victory. Heading into the first game on Mirage, CLG had the advantage. Benita was an unstoppable force coming from CLG. Between her and Reffinj, the amount of pressure applied to Old School was insurmountable. CLG took the first game 16-1.

Heading into the second game on Overpass, a similar narrative continued. CLG, continuing to shut Old School out, the team never gave Old School any leverage to take a round. By the end, Old School managed to get a round in, making it a 15-1 difference for CLG Red. Although Old School poured their heart and soul into each round, CLG had the rapport, which ultimately pushed them for the 16-1 win. CLG secured their placement in the finals.

Afterwards, Star Spangled Fraggers and Nemesis FE took to the stage. SSF, mostly comprised of Dignitas players were looked at as the winning team. Heading into Mirage for the first game, both teams played very competently. Neither Nemesis or SSF had a clear advantage over one another. Although looked at as the underdogs, Nemesis managed to secure the first game 16-10.

SSF restructured, and went into game two very strong. As the game began, both teams were evenly matched. Regardless of economy or rotations, neither team could one-up each other. However, as time went on, SSF managed to get the upper hand. SSF managed to end strong with 16-5 and lived on to see another game.

Inferno would be the tie-breaking game. This time, Nemesis came back with a punch. Quickly leading off, and bringing the team up 14-8. As the game went on, however, Nemesis seemed to have lost the momentum that brought the team so far. Round after round, Nemesis could not get past the 14th point. SSF quickly came back, and in an unprecedented move, managed to beat Nemesis, and move on to the finals.

Over on Stage B, the Vainglory semi-finals were held first. Two teams comprised of very respected players in the community; Tribe Gaming and Hammers Esports went head to head.

Closing off Day One on the CS:GO stage, co-ed teams Singularity and Spacestation Gaming took their positions. Not much was known about Spacestation. Being a younger team, they had the skill levels across the boards but lacked the experience Singularity possessed. Spacesation was also running without Davey, their leading player and brought back Voltage.

Game one took place on Nuke, placing Singularity on the CT side. Their time on the CT side was organized and overall very clean. Spacestation managed to pick up a couple rounds, but Singularity had unparalleled structure. Singularity ultimately took the game 16-3.

Moving into Train, players Oderus and Voltage of Spacestation were playing very aggressively for their team. There was an evident lack of organization within their roles. Singularity, on the other hand managed to maintain a lead consistently. While the game was not a one-sided as the first, Singularity still managed to win the best of three matches 16-10. Singularity now moves on to the finals.

Vainglory

Over on the B Stage, the Vainglory semi-finals began; pitting Tribe Gaming against Hammer Esports. Tribe, being comprised of major players in the Vainglory circuit, it was clear that the team had the advantage. Almost without mercy, Tribe Gaming swept all three matches, leaving Hammer Esports in the dust. Showing the team’s rapport, and testing their mettle, Tribe went 3-0 and will go on to the finals.

Next up, Team Feroxx and Vision Gaming took the stage. In a rather polarizing matchup, neither team had the advantage. In a rather tug-of-war scenario, both teams took a respective game, leading to a 1-1 split.

Vision Gaming, however, did not take Feroxx’s win lightly. The team came back with more composure and managed to steamroll their next victories. Hami, stealing the game-winning moment, nailed a 4-kill streak and brought Vision into the finals with a 3-1 finish.

Starcraft 2

The B Stage transitioned into hosting the Starcraft 2 semifinals. First up, esteemed players Neeb and Puck played against one another. As the first match began, Neeb had the composure and strategies needed to offset Puck’s offence. Neeb took game 1, rather efficiently.

Puck came back strong in game two. Though Neeb managed to overtake a strong first skirmish, it left him wide open for the second wave. This early mistake, lead to Puck gaining the advantage and applied enough pressure to take game 2.

Neeb, a very competent Starcraft 2 player, learned from his mistakes and came back swinging. Need began strategically picking apart Puck’s workers, ending his supply runs early on. Swiftly and efficiently, Neeb took game 3, placing him at an advantage.

Puck attempted to disrupt any of Neeb’s offensive strategies. Unfortunately, due to Neeb’s skills, it could not compare. In a rather quick match, Neeb forced his way into Puck’s territory and claimed game four for himself. Neeb landed his way into the finals.

The last Starcraft 2 match of the day went to Silky versus Future. In the first game, things looked pretty neck and neck between the two players. It could have been anyone’s game. As Silky made his way into Future’s territory, he spread out his forces. Leaving Future off-guard, he was able to take game one.

Silky continued to give Future a run for his money during the second game. Silky, playing Zerg was efficient as he built his supply and offence quickly. Future, on the other hand, made some questionable decisions which lead him to lose the second game.

Silky’s prowess for the game continued to show. Leading into game three, he made some aggressive pushes towards Future. Although the game was not as clean as Silky may have wanted it, he still got the best from his opponent. Silky will now progress to the finals.